LaTourette blames polarizing climate

Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette announced he wouldn’t seek a 10th term Tuesday, admitting he put his party in a “precarious” position less than 100 days before the November election.

“I will be, next Wednesday August the 8th notifying the appropriate people that I do not intend to seek reelection on the November 6th ballot for a 10th term,” LaTourette said at his Painesville, Ohio, office.

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LaTourette’s delay in notifying the state allows party officials in the Buckeye State to chose a Republican to replace him on the ballot – he said he won’t be involved in that process.

The northeast Ohio congressman said the nation’s fiscal situation – and Congress’s inability to address it – was a driving factor in his decision to retire. “The time has come for not only good politics, but good policy,” he said

“The current climate has increased the toll that it takes on a person,” LaTourette said, referring to the poisonous nature of Washington politics.

LaTourette denied what many Capitol Hill insiders say played a part in his decision to leave Congress – his inability to grab the chairmanship of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

LaTourette was one of the last of a dying breed — a moderate, union-friendly Republican who stood up to the right flank of the House Republican Conference. In the 112th Congress, it put him at odds with a good bulk of his GOP colleagues, including, at times, his longtime friend and ally, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

But LaTourette’s political isolation within the party was at odds with his ambition within the House Republican Conference. He wanted to resume his place toward the top of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, according to several GOP aides.

In recent weeks, LaTourette has been spotted in the National Republican Congressional Committee offices studying the board that details how much each lawmaker has donated to — and raised for — the party. Party fundraising is an important measure of worth in D.C.

LaTourette gave up his spot on the Transportation Committee in 2009, when he took a spot on Appropriations. But in recent months, as Congress struggled to pass a highway bill, his desire to resume his transportation work became clear to Capitol Hill insiders.

Last week, LaTourette saw an opening to make a play for chairman. The Steering Committee — which makes decisions on committee assignments for Republicans — shuffled Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) off the committee to a vacant spot on Financial Services. LaTourette thought it was his time. But the writing was on the wall for LaTourette: His main rival, Pennsylvania Rep. Bill Shuster, had a hammerlock on the votes needed to win the chairmanship. The steering panel’s decision will be made official at the House Republican Conference meeting Wednesday.

LaTourette was a different figure in the Capitol than he has been in the past. Once a loyal foot soldier to Boehner, LaTourette saw himself at odds with the speaker more frequently during the 112th Congress. Boehner had to cater to the conservatives in his conference — often leaving folks like LaTourette in the cold. The relationship between the two men certainly saw some wear.

The district isn’t a shoo-in for Republicans. The northeastern Ohio-based 14th District is slightly Republican-oriented but shed some GOP voters in last year’s round of redistricting. LaTourette served as the GOP congressional delegation’s representative to the redistricting process.

Republican officials said they were trying to determine who would run in LaTourette’s place.

The Democratic nominee is Dale Blanchard, an obscure Solon, Ohio, accountant who challenged LaTourette unsuccessfully in 2000 and 2002.